Making their engagement official while living abroad in Australia, Sarah and Scott had to rely heavily on online sources and Sarah's fab bridesmaids to organise their fun and love filled Cloughjordan House wedding. Captured by the lovely Danielle O'Hora, today's summer real wedding proves a little trust and research can go a long way...
Sarah tells us how, in quite a round about way, she and Scott fell in love..."I got talking to an Irish girl Madeleine at a music festival while I was living in Belgium. We soon realised we were both moving to Edinburgh (where we knew no one) the following week. We quickly swapped email addresses, agreed to meet there and went our separate ways. At the same time Scott was chefing in the Balmoral Hotel. In the middle of service someone walked out and they quickly needed to replace him. Madeline's cousin Rose's CV was top of the list. A week or two later I met Madeleine and her cousin Rose for drinks. Rose brought two of her friends from work - Scott and Robbie. I initially mistook Scott's shyness for arrogance. Not being one to shy away myself, I forced him into a conversation with me about the ethics of re-gifting Christmas presents. We talked all night, have been together since and have never once re-gifted a Christmas present."
Smitten, Scott decided to propose on Sarah's birthday. Scott tells us the story..."I had decided to propose to Sarah on her birthday, I had planned a weekend away with all her friends but decided to propose beforehand so that I didn't put her on the spot in front of everyone (and to save my own nerves!) I suggested going for a walk in the Botanic Gardens in Melbourne, which are stunning and would be a great venue for a proposal. Unfortunately we woke up late and I realised that we wouldn't have enough time to make it there as Sarah was taking her time - she didn't think we were in any rush!"
Scott continues..."I quickly changed my mind and decided to pop the question in a lovely park on our way to meet everyone. As we were walking through the park I told Sarah that I had forgotten something and when she asked me what it was I told her that I forgot to give her something and got on one knee and showed her the ring. She was quite taken back by the proposal and the first word that popped out of her mouth was a choice adjective!! Eventually I asked her if that was a yes and she said it was!! Not what I originally planned but quite memorable."
For their venue Sarah and Scott wanted a venue that could host their humanist ceremony and that served wonderful food. Living abroad they relied heavily on the internet for searching and eventually found Cloughjordan House. Sarah explains what made Cloughjordan the perfect choice..."It was a combination of things – definitely the grounds but also the approach they take in running the house and cookery school – a lot of what they serve is sourced on their grounds or locally, it just felt right. Peter and Sarah are also great hosts and made us and our families feel very at home from the minute we arrived. For a venue we booked online (via One Fab Day) without viewing, it worked out pretty well!!"
As most guests had never been to a humanist ceremony before Sarah and Scott wanted to ensure it was relaxed and enjoyable for all. Sarah remembers..."Our ceremony was conducted by Bridget Carlin – a wonderful woman and member of the Irish Humanist Association. Many of our guests had never been to a humanist service – the way she explained it and the words she chose to convey how we felt was beautiful – people still tell me it was one of the nicest services they’d heard."
The rest of the wedding was organised largely by Sarah's amazing bridal party as she told us..."Our bridal party did an outstanding job of keeping us calm – they basically took care of everything – we weren't allowed to lift a finger. A lot of how our day turned out is thanks to them!" The girls helped with all the logistics, and Sarah's sister even took a flower arranging course so that she could do the flowers on the day. Bravo ladies!
Charmed with an especially sunny wedding day Sarah, Scott and guests spent lots of their time outdoors - with the kids playing freely on the Cloughjordan trampolines while the adults indulged in some drinks and nibbles.
Love to plan a similarly laid back celebration? Sarah has some advice..."Throw out the rule book. If you don’t want to or can’t afford all the traditions then make new ones. We had our wedding on a Wednesday – it’s not the done thing and we did have people ask us why but it also gave people an excuse to take a few days off at the end of summer."
Huge congratulations to you both and thanks so much for sharing your wedding day with us all! A big thank you also goes to Danielle O'Hora for sharing her work with us. To see more from Danielle O'Hora visit www.danielleohora.com
The Wedding Details
- Wedding Dress: Maggie Sottero from Raffaele Ciuca
- Bridesmaids dresses: White Runway
- Waistcoats: ASOS
- Cake: Sweet Sensation cakes
- Stationery: Love Story Invitations
- Ceremony/Reception Music: Rua Quartet & The Seducers
- Celebrant: Bridget Carlin